There’s no “good enough” in the enterprise world - end users, customers and partners always want more, and if a business cannot evolve to meet these needs, there’s likely trouble ahead. Increasingly, we are seeing businesses do this by embracing digital transformation, or using emerging software technologies to open up new lines of revenue and better address customer and partner requirements. A key aspect of digital transformation, however, is choice. Put simply, IT organizations don’t want to be locked into a single technology stack - they want access to the best solutions that fit their unique needs, regardless of the vendor or community backing a given technology.

Red Hat is dedicated to delivering choice for our customers, seen in our recently expanded relationship with Microsoft. Not only will end users be able to access Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Red Hat OpenShift Dedicated on Microsoft Azure and build and deploy .NET Core applications across Red Hat’s open source portfolio, but they will also, for the first time, be able to run Windows Server containers alongside Red Hat Enterprise Linux container workloads on Red Hat OpenShift. All of these choices help to open up new possibilities for datacenters running both Windows and Red Hat Enterprise Linux stacks.

This commitment to choice continues today with the announcement of Microsoft SQL Server 2017 on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. As the reference Linux platform for Microsoft SQL Server 2017, SQL Server 2017 has been fully tested with Red Hat Enterprise Linux and the solution delivers increased application performance and a more secure, reliable and innovative enterprise platform, well-suited for existing mission-critical workloads and emerging technology deployments like Linux containers and IoT. Our customers can now pair the enterprise database and analytics capabilities of SQL Server with the world’s leading enterprise Linux platform, blending power, scalability and flexibility for IT organizations at both the operating system and database layers.

A consistent database experience across the hybrid cloud including on-premise and on Red Hat Certified Cloud and Service Providers where SQL Server is available, including Microsoft Azure, with Red Hat Enterprise Linux serving as the common bridge.

Microsoft SQL Server 2017 in a Red Hat Enterprise Linux container, enabling developers to more easily generate pre-configured deployments of Microsoft SQL Server 2017, including the required dependencies, for deployment on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Both Microsoft SQL Server 2017 for Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Red Hat Enterprise Linux will also be available in the Azure Marketplace.

Enhanced issue resolution with Red Hat and Microsoft integrated support, an offering first announced in 2015 that provides full lifecycle support for customers with mixed Microsoft and Red Hat environments. This support now extends to include Microsoft SQL Server 2017 on Red Hat Enterprise Linux.

We’re pleased to bring our customers industry-leading options when it comes to their IT needs, whether it’s implementing Red Hat Enterprise Linux containers using Red Hat OpenShift on one of the biggest enterprise clouds, Microsoft Azure, or building powerful new database applications with Microsoft SQL Server 2017 on Red Hat Enterprise Linux. Red Hat and our partners are helping to pave the way to digital transformation, and these new solutions offer enterprises the tools necessary for transformation.

Additionally, starting October 2, 2017, until November 30, 2018, a SQL Server on Red Hat Enterprise Linux promotional offer is available to support upgrades and migrations. This offer provides up to 30 percent off SQL Server 2017 through an annual subscription. When customers purchase a new Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscription for their SQL Server applications, they will be eligible for 30 percent off current Red Hat Enterprise Linux subscription list pricing.

For more information on Microsoft SQL Server 2017 on Red Hat Enterprise Linux, stop by the Red Hat booth #527 at Microsoft Ignite.